Sealed package



July 31, 1945, w. K. BERTHOLD y 2,380,396

u SEALED PACKAGE l' Filed'May' 21. 194s sealing gasket.

Patented Juiy 341, 1945 l UNITED STATE s P-AT asserts lENT y(ii-Fics j siiALsp PACKAGE waiter x. Berthold, aookviiio. conn., minor to Hartford-Empire Company, Hartford. Conn.. a

corporation of Delaware 4 Application May 21, =1943, Serial No. 487,898

4 Claims. (Cl. 21S-40) which the cap not only is maintained by a partial vacuum within the container in position to act on an interposed gasket to'provide a hermetic seal between the cap and the container butalso serves to press the gasket firmly into good lateral contact with a side wall of the container.

A further obieot or the invention is to provide l a hermetically sealed package ofthe character described wherein the hermetic seal is obtained' in a novel manner by the use of a relatively thin duced in diameter. as indicated at il. as is usual. Y

at an early stage in the operation offormins a hermetic seal between container; Y

Fig. 2 is a-view similar to Fig. 1 but showing the relation of the parts at the time of completion of the sealing operation;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view showing a, modied form of sealed package, in-

cluding a gasket of less thickness than that used in eilecting the hermetic seal of Fig.4 2; ancly o Fig. 4 is a view similar to' Fig. 3 but showing a still different form of sealed package. including a metallic closure for the container instead of the glass cap of each of the preceding views.

A. sealed package embodying the invention may com'prise a glass container of any suitable or preferred form, such as any one of the various well known forms of bottles, Jars, tumblers, etc. Such a container may be a Jar, such as that partially shown in each of the views of the drawing and designated l0 in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 and .l i0 in Fig.

4. A 1 The glass Jar I0 has its upper end portion re- A further obieot or the invention is to provide thuil PrOvldins'an external Shoulder l2 et the a sealed package of the character described wherein a sealing gasket of a suitable compressible, resilient material is employed to form a hermetic s'eal between the capl and the container under the iniiuence of a partial vacuum within`v Y the container acting through the cap to exert a generally downward pressure on the gasket so as to press the gasket into good sealing contact at its upper and lower ends with vertically spaced surfaces on the container and cap, respectively.

A further object offthe invention is to provide a hermetically sealed package of the character described wherein the sealing of the closure cap onto the container c an be accomplished satissl factorily by following conventional home canning practice and without necessarily involving the use of special-equipment not ordinarily available in the home. v

`Other objects and advantagesof the invention hereinafter will befpointed out or will.become tical section and partly in elevation, showing the upper portion of a glass container land aclos-ure cap therefor, together with a sealing gasket in- -terposed between the cap and the container, the

-view showing the relative positions of these parts juncture of Vthis reduced upper end portion or neck of the container and the larger body porf vention, with an external annulardownwa'rdly and inwardly tapering or .inclined gasket side sealing surface I4 adjacent to the container mouth. The sealing surface I4 is merged at its `lower end into an upwardly facing gasket-end sealing surface it. The surface Iimay be the/ upper surface of an external flange or bead I6 on the container i0.

The sealing surface I4 is shown as being merged at its upper end into the upper end surface Il of the container wall `by a rounded cor- :ier surface I8. The juncture of the surface I4 with the upper end surface l1 may be effected by any other suitable connecting surface although a rounded corner. surfacel is preferred. The side sealing surface I4 is shown as including a slight under-cut portion or downwardly facing ledge at is. This is included in the jar foi` convenience of manufacture by the use of convenonal molds and is not essential to the invenon. h glass closure cap'suitable for application to the closure cap and the l Jar lil is indicated at 20 in each of Figs. .1,A

' of the gasket.

2 and 3. The cap 20 has a depending flange or skirt 2| which is shown as being of suiilcient length to extend downwardly in encircling relation to the upper end portion of the jar nearly but not quite to the level of the shoulder I2 of the Jar. The inner wall 22 of the skirt of the cap is of greater diameter than the outer diameter `of any part of the encircled upper end portion of the Jar so that an annular space 23 is provided between the Skirt of the cap and the Aouter wall of the upper end portion of the jar. The inner surface 22 of the skirt of the cap is merged into the lower surface 24 of the head or cover portion of the cap by a corner surface 25 which preferably is Arounded or arcuately curved in vertical section. substantially as shown.

,A gasket for use in forming a hermetic seal between the cap 20 and the jar IIl preferably is a ring of rubber but may be made of any other suitable material. Such a gasket is indicated at 28 inFigs. 1 and 2.

The gasket 26 may be of rectangular shape in cross-section, when uncompressed and undistorted. It has a thickness less than the width of the narrowest part of the annular space 23v between the skirt of the cap and the side bearing surface I4 on the jar I0. The length of the gasket is greater than the distance from the gasket supporting and end sealing surface I to the level of the upper end surface I1 at the mouth of the Jar. This length is substantially greater, preferably several times greater than the thickness The inner diameter of the gasket, when it is uncompressed and undistorted, preferably is approximately the same as the diameter of the relatively smaller lower end of the side sealing surface I4 and thus somewhat smaller than the diameter of the larger upper part of such sealing surface. The outer diameter of the gasket preferably is less than that of the inner therewithin. This will cause a vdownward pressure on the cap so that the sealing contact between the upper end portion of the gasket and the inner wall of the cap will be intensified and made more firm. It\of course will be understood that an externally applied additional downward force may be applied to the cap, as by placing a weight thereon, to aid the action of-the partial vacuum in the container in forming the desired hermetic seal and in moving the cap to its applied position. The downward suction on the cap, created by the cooling of the contents of the Jar, will move the cap downwardly from the position shown in Fig. 1 to the position shown in Fig. 2, if such downward movement has not already been effected by some externally applied downward force, as by the action of a weight on the cap. If the cap already has been moved down to its Fig. 2 position, the suction thereon will maintain it in this position until the partial vacuum in the jar has been relieved.

It will be noted that in moving downward from the position shown in Fig. 1 to the position shown in Fig. 2, the contact of the rounded inner corner surface 25 of the cap with the gasket will tend to bias the upper end portion of the gasket inwardly as the gasket is compressed. This will intensify and make more firm the lateral contact of the inner wall of the gasket with the upper part diameter of the adjacent portion of the skirt of the cap 2Il. The relative dimensions of these parts may of course vary considerably yfrom those shown in Fig. 1.'

In forming a hermetic seal between the cap 20 and the Jar I0 with the use of the gasket 28, the gasket may be placed on 'the side sealing surface Il of the upper end portion of the container so as to be seated at its lower end on the upwardly facing surface I5. The particulargasket 28 will be stretched slightly where it encircles the larger upper part of the side surface Il and consequently also will be somewhat enlarged at its projecting upper end portion The food product or other substance that is to be packed in the container may be placed therein in a heated condition so as to create the desired partial vacuum in the container when such substance has cooled. The filling of thejar with a hot substance-may be done after the gasket has been placed on the jar. The glass closure cap then may be dropped onto the projecting upper end portion of the gasket on the Jar, to the position shown in Fig. 1.l It will be noted that the initial contact between the cap and the gasket will be in effect a line contact at the outer upper corner of the gasket with the rounded inner corner surface 25 at the juncture of the skirt and cover portions of the cap. This aids formation of an air-tight sealing relation between the upper end of the gasket and the inner wail of the cap as vthe thin corner edge ofthe gasket will flex and adapt itself accurately to the exact contour ofthe overlying wall of the cap. Consequently. as thecontents of the jar begin to cool, a partial vacuum may be set up of the sealing surface I4 and will stabilize the position of the cap on the Jar. It will be noted further that the gasket supporting and lower end seal'ing surface' I5 is shown as being inclined -slightly in a downward direction from the horizontal to coincide with the inclination from the horizontal of the lower end surface of the gasket when the latter has been stretched at its upper part'by its contact with the upper end portion'of the container. This is the construction preferred by me although it is not essential that the upwardly facing gasket supporting surface I5 be parallel with the plane of the lower end surface of the gasket before the latter has been thrust downwardly against such supporting surface. An air-tight seal between the lower end of the gasket and the surface I5 willbe ilrmly established by the cap-impelled downward thrust of the gasket against such surface and will be maintained .so long as the cap is held down in its applied position by the partial vacuum within the Jar.

When it is desired tocopen the sealed package.

itis only necessary to insert a suitable implement,

not shown, between the shoulder I2 and the lower edge of the skirt of the cap andto pry the cap upwardly suillciently to relieve the vacuum at lthe upper end of the gasket'26.-

The modified form of sealed package'shown in this form of sealed package and in the method of prodlwini It. there is more need for the application of a downwardly directed external force on the cap in order to assure the establishment of the partial vacuum in the cap as the contents Y thereof cool thanyin the case of the package shownv in Fig. 2.A Also, lthe downward movement ol the cap to its fully applied position, which is that show n in Fig. 3. will not press the gasket laterally against the side sealing surface |4- with as much force as produced in theoperation of forming the hermetic seal of the preferred sealed package, as heretofore described. Otherwise. the sealed package shown in Fig. 3 is substantially like that shown in Fig. 2 and is produced in substantially the same way. A

The sealed package shown in Fig. 4 comprises a. glass container I I having an external annular sealing surface I I4 formed on its upper end portion and an upwardly facing gasket supporting surface H5 at the lower end of the surface H4. A gasket 226 has been placed on the upper end portion of the container vI I0 around the sealing surface so as to be seated at its lower end against the surface ||5. This will maintain the gasket 226 in a slightly stretched condition at its upper part,

including the end portion thereof which projects 4above the upper end surface ||1 ofthe container wall.` A closure cap made of light gauge metallic or other suitable material is designated and includes a downwardly extendingilange or skirt |2I. y The cap |20 preferably is formed so that the'y inner surface of the skirt is merged into the inner surface of the head or cover portion of the cap by a rounded or arcuately curved corner surface |25, substantially as in the case of the' glass cap 20.

In forming the package shown in Fig. 4, the metalliccap |20 may be placed over the gasket so that the outer corner edge at the top of the latter will bear against the rounded innerv corner Surface of the metallic cap. In order to assure the creation of the partial vacuum within the container as the contents thereof cool, an externally applied downward pressure on the cap |20 may be required, particularly in view of the relatively light'weight of this cap alone. This may be done by placing any suitable object upon the cap. I prefer however to effect this result by the use of a hold-down cap |50 which has a downwardly extending skirtl |5| adapted toj't over illustrative examples of the invention shown in the drawing will readily occur'to those skilled in the art and the invention therefore is not restrictedto the detailsiof these examples.

I claim:

1. A sealed package comprising a glass container having an upper end portion formed with a vertical opening therein, said upper end portion of thel container having an external upwardly 'facing supporting surface formed thereon adjacent to but below the level of the upper end of the container and yhaving an upwardly enlarging side sealing surface formed thereon between said upwardly facing supporting surface and the upper end of the container, a gasket of compressible,

resilient material of substantially greater length than thickness and having an initially smaller inner diameter, when unstretched, than the diameter of the upper part of said side sealing surface, said gasket being disposed on said side sealing surface so that its lower end is seated on said supporting surface and its upper end portion projects in a slightly expandedcondition above the upper end of the container, and a closure cal) having a cover portion overlying the upper end of the container and a skirt extending downwardly over the gasket, said cap being seated adjacent to the juncture of its cover portion and skirt on the upper end-of the'gasket and acting.

inresponse to a partial vacuum in the container, to exert a downward pressure end-wise on said gasket to provide a hermetic seal between said container and said cap, said gasket, when uncompressed, being of substantially less thickness i spaced below that of the upper end of the cony the ange or skirt I2| of the sealing cap. The

down until the hermetic seal has been established by the cooling of the contents of the container. 'I'he cap |50 then may be removed and usedin the capping and sealing f other containers like -v the container ll0. Or, the-cap |50 may be left to open the laton the jar ||0 untilit is desired ter. When this is tol be done, the cover |50 may be removed and the cap |20 then may be pried loose from the gasket.

-It will be noted sealed packages lshown in the drawing and hereinbei'ore described may be produced by conventional home canning-procedure, without necessarily requiring the use of any special equipment. It of course will be understoody that the sealed packages may be produced by commercial methods and by the use of capping and sealing instrumentalities notavailable in the home. Thus, the vacuum mightbe produced by the use of any suitable known machine for effecting vacuum-sealing of caps onto jars, including those which do not rely uponcooling of -contents of the container itocreate lthe 'vacuum *required to. hermetically seal the cap to the container.

Various changes in and hat each of the illustrative than the width of the space between the upper end portion of the container and the surrounding skirt portion of the closure cap.'

2. A sealed package comprising a glass container having an upper end portion formedA with a vertical opening therein, said upper end portion having an external upwardly facing 'supporting surface formed thereon ata level adjacent to but tainer, a closure cap. having a cover portion disposed in covering relation to the vupper end of the container and having a skirt extending downwardly over the upper end portion of the container in spaced relation therewith, and a gasket of compressible, r'esilient material of substantially greater length than thickness seated at its upper en d against the cover portion of the cap adjacent tothe juncture of said cover portion and the skirt of the cap and seated at its lower end on said upwardly facing supporting surface on the container-so as to be pressed by said cap, in response to a partial vacuum in the container, into hermetic sealing relation at each of its opposite e'nds with the surface in contact` therewith and laterally at its upper `end portion against the wall of the 'container adjacent to the upper end ofthe latter, the thickness of said gasket, when uncompressed, being substantially less than the width ofA the space between the upper end portion ofthe con-'- tainer and the surrounding skirt portion of the cap. y y 3. A sealed package comprising Aa glass container vhaving an upper end portion with a vertical opening therein, said upper end portion having an ing surface, a glass closure cap having a cover portion overlying the upper end of the container and havin'ga skirt extending downwardly around .or the 7 5 the upper ena portion or the container in spaces concentric relation therewith and to a level below that of said upwardly facing supporting surface,

' and a sealing gasket stretched around said side sealing surface and seated at 'dts lower end on said upwardly facing supporting surface and at its upper end against the lower surface of the cover portion of said closure cap adjacent to the juncture of the llatter with the skirt of the cap, said gasket having a thickness substantially less than its length and less than the radial distance between the skirt of the cap 'and said side sealing surface on the container, said cap being impelled continuously by a partial vacuum within the contalner to exert downward pressure against the upper end of the gasket to maintain the latter compressed end-wise between said cap and said upwardly facing supporting surface on the container.

4. A sealed package 'comprising a glass container having an upper end portion formed with a vertical opening therein, said upper end portion having an external upwardly facing supporting surface formed thereon adjacent to but below the level of the upper end of the container, a closure cap having a cover portion and a skirt portion, the cover portion overlying the upper end of the container and the skirt portion extending downwardly over the upper end of the container in spaced concentric relation therewith, said cap having an arcuately curved inner corner surface at the juncture of its vskirt and cover portions, and an endless gasket of compressible, resilient material and of substantially greater length than thickness, said gasket being seated at its lower end on said upwardly facing supporting surface and extending in closely fitting contact with the upper end portion of the container and above the upper end of the latter so as to be seated at its upper end against the inner surface of the cap, the upper end of the gasket being in contact at its outer edge with said arcuately curved inner corner surface of the cap, said cap being under downward pressure resulting from a partial vacuum in the container so Aas to maintain said gasket pressed end-Wise against said upwardly facing supporting surface and laterally inward at its upper end portion against the adjacent wall of the upper end portion of the container, the thickness of said gasket, when uncompressed, being substantially less than the width Aof the space between the concentric upper end portion of the container and the surrounding skirt portion of the cap. r

WAL'I'ER. K. BERTHOLD. 

